Voters reject school bonds
IMPERIAL — Measure P, the $30 million bond measure proposed by the Imperial Unified School District, appeared to have been rejected by voters Tuesday night, according to preliminary unofficial election results.
At the close of the polls Tuesday, the measure’s supporters appeared to have been trailing those in opposition by about 10 percentage points, with 24 of 29 precincts reporting.
Of the 1,062 ballots counted, 578 (54.4 percent) stood opposed to the bond measure, while 484 (45.5 percent) voted for its approval, according to the county Registrar’s Office’s website.
About two hours later, with 26 of 29 precincts reporting a total 1,341 ballots cast, no votes accounted for 724 (53.9 percent), while yes votes accounted for 617 (46 percent), the website stated.
By about 10:40 p.m., with all precincts reporting a total of 1,878 votes cast, opposing votes reached 1,015 (55.4 percent), with 814 (44.5 percent) in support.
The measure needed 55 percent voter approval in order to pass. It was intended to fund the modernization of outdated classrooms, restrooms and schools, expand physical education facilities and construct a new multi-purpose room for school and community use.
Measure P proposed an annual tax of about $ 45 per $ 100,000 of assessed property value, or about $ 3.75 per month. Interest on the bond would be about $ 1.76 million a year, the initiative’s language stated.
As of 10: 40 p. m. Tuesday, the county reported 197 of 218 precincts reporting, with 11,620 of the county’s 77,390 registered voters casting ballots, the Registrar’s Office website stated.
An official final tally of both local precinct votes and mail- in ballots are not expected for some days.
The Election Office’s unofficial results on Tuesday night consisted of polling place voters and an undetermined number of mailin ballots received on or before Election Day.
The agency advised the public that another “Unofficial Election Results” update will be published after 5 p. m. today.
Voters at the local and state level also appeared to have rejected Proposition 13, which would have raised $ 15 billion in state general obligation bonds for construction and modernization of public education facilities.
Locally, voters appeared at the close of the polls to be evenly split both for and against it, with about 74 percent of precincts reporting 50.9 percent of voters opposed and 49 percent in support.
Nearly three hours later, that slight margin grew to 52.2 percent in opposition and 47.7 percent in support, with all 29 precincts reporting, the Registrar’s Office reported.
At the state level, voters appeared to have rejected the initiative at a greater margin, with 57.1 percent of them voting in opposition, and 42.9 percent casting ballots in support, with 53.5 percent of the state’s precincts reporting at 11: 05 p. m.